Sugar

Options
grandprixandme
grandprixandme Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been actively avoiding sugar in processed foods but sugar is prevalent in fruits and veggies. Do the two types of sugars count the same? If I eat fruit for breakfast, my sugar intake is almost used up for the rest of the day.

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    Options
    Sugar is sugar, whether it's processed or natural. Unless you have a medical reason to watch your sugar intake, it's not a big deal. I chose to track fiber instead.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    Options
    There was just a long long conversation in a thread about this, but essentially sugar is sugar. Unless you have a medical need to watch sugars (which really you watch in carbs), then you should ignore it.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
    Options
    Technically yes, they are the same, but organizations like WHO wants you only to reduce your added sugars. Watch to see if you find yourself any hungrier on days where you are above target vs days you are below target. If there's no difference, I wouldn't sweat it. For me, when my sugar levels creep up too high I tend to feel a little hungrier for the same calories.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Options
    Yes, the sugar is identical, but fruit and vegetables are more nutritious.

    A good tip would be to not track sugar unless you have to, and you know that you have to when your doc told you to.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    Options
    Your body processes sugar from any source the same way. If you don't have a medical reason to limit your sugar intake, I would not worry about tracking it. If you have a preference for limiting certain high-sugar foods I would focus instead on food choices and not worry about the sugar in fruit.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited March 2017
    Options
    grandprixandme wrote: »
    I have been actively avoiding sugar in processed foods but sugar is prevalent in fruits and veggies. Do the two types of sugars count the same? If I eat fruit for breakfast, my sugar intake is almost used up for the rest of the day.

    Do you have a very low sugar goal?

    I don't care about sugar from fruit, veg, or dairy -- I don't get much in other foods and see added sugar in larger amounts as more a signifier that the diet may not be sufficiently nutrient dense or balanced. As others have suggested, I think there's a good argument for not worrying about it, but focusing on other things like getting enough fiber, protein, and healthy fats. The reason for the low WHO recommendation is basically about calories and having a nutrient-rich diet, and fruits and veg are nutrient-rich.

    That said, with the usual MFP goal I don't normally go over and wouldn't get anywhere near it with breakfast. The lower goals (like 25 g) that you find off MFP are based on added sugar, not all sugar, so are too low if you are counting all IMO. (I get that much from vegetables often, and would strongly disagree with the idea that one should reduce veg or worry about having some fruit.)
  • LPflaum
    LPflaum Posts: 174 Member
    Options
    As echoed above, sugar is sugar. I disagree with the assertion that there's NO reason to watch your sugar intake for a few reasons- 1) sugar has a lot of calories and doesn't keep you full very long, which CAN lead to a propensity to blow your caloric goals for a day. 2) There is evidence that high sugar diets cause heart disease. The NYT did a piece on this a while back and how lobbyists essentially commissioned a competing study and then buried the first one (similar to what tobacco companies did in the 1960s). 3) high sugar intake is a contributing factor (though not a cause) of things like Type 2 Diabetes.

    Now, having said all of that, eating fruit is not going to kill you. Unless you're eating like, six mangoes a day, you're simply not going to eat enough sugar to do damage. I would probably not recommend eating 2 mangoes + 3 cookies and a bunch of chicken nuggets slathered in BBQ sauce, because that would be an excessive amount of sugar, but fruit is fine. If you do want to cut sugar, watch for all the weird places they ADD it- breadcrumbs, applesauce, BBQ sauce, bread, salad dressing, pasta sauce. That's where most americans get all of their extra unnecessary calories- hidden added sugar.

    I cut sugar a while back because a friend suggested that switching up my diet/macros might help me break a plateau. It did, and it turns out that my body hates sugar... and most carbs. I never realized this, but most of my stomach issues were sugar related. Even my migraines have been drastically reduced since I stopped eating as much sugar. I eat primarily veggies and proteins, virtually no grains, fruits or "sweets." Its a tough diet for most people and I probably wouldn't recommend it to the general public. For me, those foods make me feel so bad that it's pretty easy to avoid cheating.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Options
    All sugar is natural. It all comes from things like sugar cane, beets, corn, maple trees, etc. All that happens with processed foods is that the sugar is concentrated in larger quantities.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Options
    Sugar is sugar. If I want want to eat sugar I get it from veggies and fruits. I limit those though due to insulin resistance. Many don't limit the sugars from fruit and veggies.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,293 Member
    Options
    I'm at 43g after breakfast, of an MFP default full-day goal of 67, and only 13 of that is added sugar (tablespoon of blackstrap molasses). Another 8g is fruit (mixed berries). The remaining 22g is from no-sugar-added dairy products (plain nonfat Greek yogurt, skimmed milk).

    I go over the sugar goal every day, eating foods similar to the above. Meh, don't care.

    Avoiding excess added sugar is probably a good plan. (Excess = drives out other needed nutrition by being too high calorie).

    Natural sugars as per above? Personally, I'm not worried (not pre-diabetic, no family history of diabetes, etc.).

    I just track fiber instead.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
    Options
    I'm another one who doesn't track sugar. I know I'm eating too much of it if I find myself hungrier than usual or having trouble staying within my calories.

Categories